1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to new skin cleansing agents and more specifically to skin cleansing agents which can remove make-up such as lipstick, foundation, mascara, eye shadow, etc., as well as wash bare skin to clean off dirt and sebum from the skin in a one stage process.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, people who wear oil-containing make-up such as lipstick, foundation, mascara, eye shadow, etc., would, when washing their faces, first use a face washing agent(s) for make-up removal, which contains a lot of solvent oil(s) which mixes well with make-up, such as cleansing cream, cleansing oil, cleansing milk or cleansing gel, and then secondly wash off the residual oil(s) of the cleansing agent(s) (cleansing cream, cleansing oil, cleansing gel, cleansing milk, etc.) as well as sebum and dirt from the skin by using a face washing agent(s) for bare skin cleansing, such as a strongly water soluble soap or cleansing foam, thus achieving the satisfaction of feeling clean and refreshed.
The reason why such two-stage cleansing is needed is that: rinsing with water or warm water immediately after using creams and such, for make-up removal which contains a lot of oil(s), does not sufficiently remove residual oil(s) from the skin and the refreshing cleansed feeling cannot be obtained. Whereas cleansing by using only cleansing agents, such as soap does not sufficiently remove the pigments, coloring materials and such, which are covered with oil(s) on the skin.
However, a fast and simple make-up removal procedure has recently been increasingly in demand and thus products that can answer this demand are sought after in the market. Therefore, skin cleansing agents which have both a make-up removal effect and a bare skin cleansing effect, i.e. give a clean and refreshed feeling, with only a one-stage process are desired. Such a one-stage skin cleansing agent, for example, is disclosed in Japanese patent publication (Tokkai) Sho-63-122618.
However, for sweat resistant and water resistant lipsticks, foundation, mascara, eye shadow, etc., having a long-lasting make-up effect which have been developed recently, i.e. the so-called "hard make-up ", the one-stage skin cleansing agents which have been reported thus far have not been satisfactory in terms of the cleansing effect and feel during use.